Many existing audio devices such as portable stereo systems and portable karaoke systems have cradles that accept portable music players. In such, the portable music player connects through a plug in the cradle that is proprietary to the audio device. Power is provided to the portable music player through the jack and audio is communicated from the portable music player to the audio device through the jack.
Being that the plug is an integral part of the cradle; the cradle/jack system only operates for one or a limited number of portable music players. For example, some recent audio devices have a cradle that only accepts a certain portable music player such as an iPOD Nano. If it is desired to use a different portable music player, there is no way to connect and/or support the different portable music player through the cradle/jack system. Instead, the non-supported portable music player must be connected to audio inputs through audio cables and, since it does not fit in the cradle, it rests on a nearby surface. The non-supported portable music player does not receive power through the audio cables and requires an additional cable to a source of power such as a wall-wart power supply.
What is needed is an audio system that holds and provides power directly to a variety of possible devices when one of such devices are supported in a cradle.